Material for adult beginners and near-beginners

[JustinHorton]

I just found out a guy I've known for two decades, must be in his forties, took up chess a couple of years ago. He's asked me for some book recommendations: he says "I'm still yet to beat an adult player in my club....my openings are fine, my middle game is shakey, my endgame is atrocious".

Any ideas? I have a feeling I have asked something similar here before and suitable printed books were few and far between, so if people do know of good online items then do say so. But please, be sparing, I don't want to be offering the guy dozens of recommendations which I have no way of evaluating personally. If any forum readers themselves teach adult near-beginners I would particularly welcome their input.

[J T Melsom]

I don't have any resources to recommend, but in a sense this sort of issue (helping returning players to improve) is more critical than the structure of membership fees. And I suspect many clubs struggle with this. Not every club contains people who are good at encouraging others - those that are, are often busy with other tasks. Those bothering with over the board chess are looking to raise their level of play. Are they finding the help or just being dropped into matches? We definitely lost one elderly player frustrated that he was being thrashed and his opponents weren't explaining why. It would have been quite a task improving his play, but I'm sure more promising students aren't getting support either.

[Simon Rogers]

Hi Justin.
I am currently teaching two "adult near-beginners" both in their mid-seventies and one of them has been diagnosed with early onset alzheimers.
I also help with five " adult near-bginners " at our Poulton-le-Fylde Chess Club. Three of whom made their over-the-board league match debuts last Monday for my Poulton 2 development team.
I'll try and recommend a couple of books and tips.
There are pictures on our newly created Poulton-le-Fylde Chess Club website. Along with Ben Fearnhead winning the Silver Queen tournament by beating Brett Lund and Malcolm Peacock.

[Joey Stewart]

Honestly, I find books are a catch 22 - you need to be a good player in order to actually get anything worthwhile out of them but you needed that knowledge to get good in the first place.

Here's my number one recommendation I would give to any student wanting to get good at endgames without having to memorise Dworteskis endgame manual from cover to cover - endgames puzzles online.
https://chesstempo.com/chess-endgames/

[Mick Norris]

Richard James Chess for Heroes downloadable books

The Chess Heroes Books

A unique series of books for players who know the basics and would like to play competitively. There’s some overlap, but they can follow on from either of the two courses above. They’re also ideal for chess teachers working at this level. The first four volumes provide the knowledge you need to play a good game, while the Puzzles and Games books enable you to put that knowledge into practice. Click on a title to download.

Nigel Davies is the go to guy for teaching adults, but I assume near beginners aren't ideally catered for

[Richard James]

I just found out a guy I've known for two decades, must be in his forties, took up chess a couple of years ago. He's asked me for some book recommendations: he says "I'm still yet to beat an adult player in my club....my openings are fine, my middle game is shakey, my endgame is atrocious".

Any ideas? I have a feeling I have asked something similar here before and suitable printed books were few and far between, so if people do know of good online items then do say so. But please, be sparing, I don't want to be offering the guy dozens of recommendations which I have no way of evaluating personally. If any forum readers themselves teach adult near-beginners I would particularly welcome their input.

I couldn't find anything on the market which taught chess at this level my way, so, some years ago now, I decided to write my own.

They're currently available for download on several of my websites: see, for example, here. In general terms, the first four books (checkmates, tactics, openings, endings) are designed for players from roughly 500-1000 strength, and the puzzles and games books for players from roughly 1000-1500 strength. They're also recommended for anyone teaching either children or adults at this level.

I'm hoping to have the first five books available in physical format on Amazon fairly shortly, but anyone who wants to do so is welcome to download the pdfs for free. I also need to return to the sixth book now my book on Chess for Schools has been published.

You're quite right that there's very little available at this level, but, when I tried the major chess book publishers several years ago, there was little interest. I don't want to wait any longer so have decided to take the Amazon route.

(Thanks, Mick. Our posts crossed!)

[Roger de Coverly]

He's asked me for some book recommendations: he says "I'm still yet to beat an adult player in my club....my openings are fine, my middle game is shakey, my endgame is atrocious".

I would be inclined to recommend Chrenev's old Logical Chess Move by Move. Not because the analysis is particularly wonderful, but because it teaches a way of looking at every move and spotting patterns. If you have a player whose openings are fine (but check that) and claims a shaky middle game and atrocious endgame, perhaps the way forward is to learn how to quickly put people away once you get a decent opening. I strongly suspect that it's easier when you can convince your oppoenent they are wasting their time in not resigning, so ruthless moves that say "you have no chance" are the order of the day.

[PabloByrne]

He's asked me for some book recommendations: he says "I'm still yet to beat an adult player in my club....my openings are fine, my middle game is shakey, my endgame is atrocious".

I would be inclined to recommend Chrenev's old Logical Chess Move by Move. Not because the analysis is particularly wonderful, but because it teaches a way of looking at every move and spotting patterns. .

I agree with this. Plus Euwe's Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur.